So far I've just read His Advice On Marriage (I've been busy with work, plus I'm reading Camus, Orwell and a fair few books from Marines who served during the 2003 Iraq invasion), but I think they're just so incredibly interesting.
I suppose On Marriage does not suit well with modern tastes (it's very much of it's time, and could be considered, by modern standards I must stress, wholly misogynistic). That, though, is a great disservice to the work.
In it Plutarch gives advice to a newly married couple of his acquaintance and the majority of it is reassuring words on how a woman should act to keep her husband both happy and their relationship solid. Not only is it a valuable insight into Roman values, it's wonderful as a window into the "ideal" Roman marriage and the relationship between the genders.
If you consider it within the framework of the value system it was written under then it's a very touching, genuine and somewhat lovingly written piece, and it shows a really humane side to Plutarch that is very pleasant to engage with.
One thing that struck me is the expectations put upon a proper Roman wife. It was a difficult life, I have no doubt. She needed to be a master diplomat, and in many respects a servant to her husband. This, of course, may make little sense to modern (Western) readers, but I think it highlights the complex nature of a Roman woman's life and also, by implication, how well educated and able she must be to fulfil such a role - no idiot could be a proper Roman wife, it seems.
Finally, and I'm not fully qualified to comment on this, I wonder to what extent the age of Warner's translation colours how it can be interpreted. There is considerable leeway in the translating of classical texts and the translation can depend not simply on words, but on the age of the translation, the conventions of the time, the translator and many other things. It's an interesting aside.
Plutarch is one of my favourite ancient authors, though I've looked at his Lives more than the Moralia (and mostly in English I'm afraid, except for the dreams bits). The Advice on Marriage is certainly not something we'd want to follow these days, but by ancient standards it's pretty nice - it treats women more like human beings than some other texts!
ReplyDeletekONSTANTINOS MANTAS: PLUTARCH MIGHT LOOK MISOGYNIST BY MODERN STANDARDS BUT HE WAS DEFINITELY FEMINIST BY THE STANDARDS OF HIS AGE, LIKE MOST OF THE STOICS. SEE MY OWN,<<MARRIAGE IN THE ROMAN IMPERIAL PERIO, POLIS, 11, 199, P111-134, AND THE ARTCLES AND BOOKS OF GEORGIA TSOUVALA AND OF PROFESSOR NIKOLAIDIS.
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